Yesterday and today we suffered some IT disruption. If you e-mailed us during that period, your e-mail may not have got through, so if you have not received a reply, please re-send your e-mail and we will respond immediately.

Remember the UnitiQute, Naim's
multi award winning 'entry level' half box integrated streamer / amp? Well,
having dominated its class for 3 years, the Qute has now been deleted, along
with all the other Uniti products - replaced by an exciting new Uniti range
(Atom, Star, Nova and Core) all of which have been redesigned 'from the ground
up', to significantly outperform the old models on every front. At first
glance, you might think the new Uniti Atom is a direct replacement for the old
UnitiQute, but in reality, it is a very different product, offering performance
on a far higher level, combined with vastly improved ergonomics.

Up
close, the Atom is a much more sophisticated proposition than the outgoing Qute,
with a stunning new design, taking its cues from Naim's flagship Statement products. It is heavier, wider and taller than the
outgoing model, yet less deep, so it will fit more easily onto shelves. The
Qute's DAB radio has gone (no need for it with internet radio) but in its place,
the Atom boasts more power, twin USB inputs (one of which will take a
big external USB hard drive) a gorgeous new five inch glass colour LCD display (to show main functions, plus album artwork etc) complete with
proximity sensor, plus state of the art 40-bit SHARC DSP processing, upgraded
Wi-Fi performance, a new premium Burr Brown DAC, hidden aerials and a greatly improved free control App. That's on
top of all the features that made the old Qute so popular - so the Atom still
has Bluetooth apt-X, plus Apple AirPlay, plus Google Cast, plus Spotify Connect,
plus Tidal, plus Internet Radio plus 3 digital inputs (2 x optical + 1 x coax) plus
one analogue input, plus a preamp output, giving customers the option of
upgrading, by adding on a high performance power amp.

Just a few seconds with the Atom tells you how
far Naim have come in recent years - if you want a car analogy, comparing the
old Qute with the new Atom is like comparing an old Jaguar S-Type with a new XE. The S-Type was a perfectly
pleasant enough car, but you can see that its design is rooted in the past,
whereas the XE is a much more 21st Century product, both in looks, but also in
performance and efficiency. It's the same with the Atom, in that you can still
see elements of 'classical' Naim styling, but the overall impression is that
this is much more 'off the moment'. That impression is only strengthened when
you use the product, because the Atom makes the Qute (or indeed any of the older
Uniti products) seem rather old fashioned and slightly 'clunky' in
comparison.

Thankfully, beauty isn't only skin deep here,
because the circuitry upgrades translate into a tangible sonic leap when the
Atom is compared to the Qute, with the Atom outperforming the UnitiQute's big
brother, the UnitiLite, to most people's ears. It really does look as if Naim
has a future classic on its hands here, with a product that matches the
aspirations of the modern audiophile, both from a performance and functionality
standpoint. The Atom is pretty much perfect!

All of which would be great, except for an unexpected ‘fly in the chardonnay', which is that shortly after the provisional launch details (including pricing) of the new Uniti range were announced by Naim, Sterling crashed and (since many of Uniti’s components come from abroad) the company had no option but to hurriedly schedule a 10% price rise for the Jan 2017. Not great news, because the new Uniti models won’t actually be available in the shops until AFTER that date, so therefore should carry the new, higher price tag. However, there is a (temporary) silver lining to this particular cloud, because Naim have said that they will honour the initial pre increase launch price for all customers who order new Uniti models BEFORE the increase takes effect, as a goodwill gesture in this difficult situation. So get your skates on, give us a £50 deposit and you'll be one of the first in the country to own this amazing new product, plus you'll have got it at the ‘old’ price and saved yourself a load of cash into the bargain!